The top U.S. military officer landed in Pakistan on Monday for talks with embattled President Pervez Musharraf and the military leadership _ his second visit to the increasingly violent country in a month.
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Islamabad following a stop in Iraq over the weekend, said Elizabeth Colton, the spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad.
The back-to-back trips to Pakistan reflect U.S. concern that a growing insurgency by al-Qaida and Taliban militants in the country's tribal region near the border with Afghanistan represent an increasing threat.
Last month, Mullen said the threat of Islamic extremism was growing in Pakistan and that the country's leadership was aware of the challenge facing the nation.
Mullen will meet with Musharraf, Army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani and Gen. Tariq Majid, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Committee.
Mullen was also likely to discuss plans calling for 22 U.S. personnel to train elements of the Pakistani military in counter-insurgency and intelligence gathering techniques later this year.
The training _ to be passed on to Pakistan's border Frontier Corps force _ will also leave those troops better able to cooperate with U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, a U.S. military official told The Associated Press on Sunday.
The U.S. personnel are scheduled to arrive sometime between June and October, the official said. Current plans call for the U.S. training to last two years and to be passed on to some 8,500 Frontier Corps troops.
(This version CORRECTS that Mullen is not a commander.)
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